"That's really not an option for me anymore," he admitted, chuckling, half-bitter and half-rueful. "They already have a massive hate-on for me. They'll hunt me down no matter where I go, so my only real option is to go after them before they start coming after me again."

"Can you at least tell me who they are?"

"Sorry," he said, offering a one-shouldered shrug, "but that really falls into the category of things you're better off not knowing."

)You're not going to tell him any more than that, are you, kid.(

It wasn't really a question, but he was going to answer it anyway. )This really is for his own good, Elegen.(

)I won't argue with you on that one, Ryan. I just know that Shep's not going to take it as well as you'd like. I know protective types, and this guy's definitely one of them. Just make sure you keep that in mind when you're dealing with him.(

)I'll keep that in mind,( he said, turning his attention back to Shepherd.

"Are you going to tell me why you keep spacing out on me when I try to talk to you?" the man in question demanded.

"Sorry about all the secret-agent stuff, but that's also one of the things you're better off not knowing."

"I can't accept that," Shepherd said flatly.

"I wouldn't ask you to," he stated with flat certainty. "Thanks for trying, though. I'm sorry it didn't work out, but like I said, there are just some things you're better off not knowing."

Turning away from Shepherd before the other boy could think of anything else to say, he left. They'd probably throw him out now that he wasn't a member of their group – not that he'd ever really been one in the first place, but whatever – and he was going to need to find a new place to stay. That meant that he'd need some time to think; he didn't know L.A. nearly as well as he'd need to to make this easy.

XxXxX

Outside the old, abandoned mansion, a figure moved in the shadows. While Ryan was getting ready to leave, someone else was getting ready to go in. On the orders of Overlord Edward Caerleon, Chaldu had taken over Sharru's duties as a tracker. Sharru herself had been sent to reconnoiter the ACTF's headquarters; Chaldu wasn't entirely sure, but she got the feeling that the mission was some kind of a punishment, especially since Overlord Caerleon had seemed annoyed with Sharru for some reason.

Well, as annoyed as he ever got, anyway.

Focusing her attention back on what she was supposed to be doing, Chaldu continued to look for a way inside. Most of the entrances and exits had wooden planks nailed across them, really more of an annoyance than a hindrance. On the other hand, she had been ordered to handle this mission with a delicate touch, which did in fact preclude her ripping down the planks in her way; she knew this full well.

She wasn't a male Zoanoid, after all.

Leaving behind the boarded-up front entrance, Chaldu continued to search. When she started to hear a decidedly odd clicking/scraping sound coming from behind her, she turned to look back over her shoulder. Seeing that there was no one and nothing standing behind her, Chaldu turned her attention back to her assignment.

Just in time to feel someone clamp their hand over her mouth. Another hand closed around her neck, and Chaldu transformed. With her Zoaform's claws fully formed, she slashed at the arms of her captor. She was extremely unpleasantly surprised to find that her claws merely caught in the skin of her assailant.

XxXxX

Aptom chuckled coldly as the female Zoanoid he was eating struggled futilely in his grip. There was just no way that she was going to be able to get away from him.

I hope I don't end up as some kind of hermaphrodite after this. He had to laugh at himself after that thought. After all, there wasn't really that much of a difference between a female Zoanoid and a male. Not when it came to their Zoaforms, anyway; that was all he cared about in the end.

He'd seen a few female Zoanoids during the time he'd spent working for Chronos, but as a Lost Unit he'd never been assigned to work with them. Hell, all he really knew about female Zoanoids was that they were smaller than the males. The few he had seen in action were even faster than Zancrus, who'd been the fastest Hyper Zoanoid he'd ever encountered.

He really looked forward to being able to improve his own considerable speed, since being faster than his meals would give them less of a chance to escape from him. Also, there'd be less of a chance for one of them to be able to tag him with a damned bio-laser, which was another plus as far as he was concerned.

Looking back at his hands, he watched as the last remnants of the female Zoanoid were absorbed. He paused, taking a moment to assimilate the few memories he had received from his most recent meal. The only memories that got through to him were the most recent, but in this case it was enough to let him know that things were about to get ugly again.

That kid never could seem to keep himself out of trouble, he thought derisively. Still, it was Crouger and not Fukamachi who was in trouble. He might protect Fukamachi when the situation demanded it, but that was only so he could have the pleasure of ending that little shit's life personally. For the memory of his friends Somlum and Dymu, it was all he could do.

Ryan Crouger was something else entirely. Sure, they annoyed the holy living hell out of each other every time they were in the same place for too long, and there had been a few times he'd just wanted to eat the kid and have done with it all. But, when he watched the kid deal out pain and holy havoc to Chronos with no real hesitation, he was actually glad for whatever bizarre chain of events that had let Crouger escape from him.

Besides, it was kind of fun to annoy someone who was actually capable of making snappy comebacks.

With that thought firmly in mind, Aptom turned away from the boarded-up front door of the mansion. If he was going to go inside, and at this point it looked like he might have to, he was going to find an entrance that hadn't been blocked off by planks.